


Survivor

by gillywulf



Category: Tomb Raider & Related Fandoms, Tomb Raider (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Post Yamatai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 17:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3419927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillywulf/pseuds/gillywulf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lara doesn't sleep very well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Survivor

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. It was bound to happen. First TR fic.

Lara was sure that she had memorized the pattern on the ceiling. It was subtle and she was sure that if she nudged Sam and asked what she thought of it, the other woman wouldn't even see it. To be fair, she was never great at being woken in the middle of the night. Lara's nightmares were proof of that. Sam breathed a touch too deep to still be asleep and suddenly a hand was roaming over Lara's stomach. As per usual, the hand splayed out over top of her shirt and moved in slow circles.  
  
"Sweetie, did you have a nightmare?" It was a rhetorical question really; a night didn't go by that she didn't have a nightmare. Lara kept her eyes on the ceiling. Her own hand came up to trace Celtic knots (she'd been studying a lot of Celtic myths lately, anything that was drastically different from Japanese, though it was nearly impossible, as everything reminded her of the island) on the back of Sam's hand. She kept her touch light. It wouldn't do to startle the one person she couldn't live without, and that was hardly an exaggeration at this point.  
  
"A little while ago. I'm just having trouble falling back to sleep. I'll be fine" She let the corners of her touch twitch upwards in the vain hope that Sam might believe her and drop it. For a second, she thought she was successful, but the filmmaker propped herself up on one elbow to give herself an unimpeded view of her oldest friend.  
  
"What do you see? When you sleep, I mean" she asked quietly. Lara tried not to let the darkness feel like the wolves snapping at her legs or the airplane crashing around her. She shoved away the thoughts of the blood swamp with a vicious ferocity as her hand stopped the knots and gripped Sam's instead.  
  
"Everything. I see their faces. Of all the men I...of Roth and Alex. Sometimes you from when they tried to burn you. I see every scar and Reyes blaming me, I-" The rest got caught in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop thinking about it. The tactic remained as ineffective as always. She felt Sam thread their fingers together and the small action grounded her more than she cared to admit. She was always floating these days but one touch from Sam always brought her back.  
  
"I see Himiko. I see all of the things she did and she wanted to do and believe me there was a _lot_ " she scoffed momentarily in wonder. "For some reason you don't think that someone in a half dead body would think about the first thing they'll eat in a new body. It's crab. She really wanted crab. Which I thought was weird, but whatever," Lara smiled and the tension began seep out of her as Sam talked. "I felt her rage, her triumph, her physical _pain_ when you stabbed her. I thought you stabbed _me_ at first. I feel _that_ sometimes. Look, I...I'm not saying I know exactly how you feel or what you went through, and you can't exactly say that for me either and that's okay. As long as we talk to each other we'll be okay" She finished quietly, her thumb brushing the skin along Lara's pinky. The archeologist looked up at her.  
  
"You still dream of Himiko?" A nod. "How often?"  
  
"How often do you dream of Roth?" Ah. Lara nodded and turned her gaze back to the ceiling. She let Sam stare at her sleepily, her thumb constantly moving.  
  
"I never know what to say"  
  
"I know. As long as you try I don't mind" She nodded again as their fingers parted. The other woman settled back down against her, providing a warm, comforting weight. Lara closed her eyes. Somehow, Sam's fingers wormed their way under Lara's shirt and began to trace the large scar on her side that was mirrored on her back. The soft touch almost lulled her back to sleep, but she fought it.  
  
"Why do you do that?"  
  
"Do what?" Sam mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Touch my scars. They aren't exactly _pretty_ " Surprisingly, Sam laughed. Or, laughed as well a half-asleep person could. Lara shivered at the hot breath on her shoulder.  
  
"I never cared about pretty. Scars mean you survived. I like that you survived. Ergo, I like your scars" The logic was hilariously simple and so _Sam_. But she was right, wasn't she? Even if her mind was still processing everything from Yamatai (months ago), her body was already moving on. Against all odds she had lived and dragged Sam out with her. And now they lay in bed, safe and sound, but most importantly together. She breathed a laugh and buried her nose in Sam's hair. 

"Thanks for that" All she got in reply was a sleepy hum, but she didn't mind. The darkness had ceased to tear at her ankles or attack her with shrapnel. It was just warmth now, a solid and comforting presence all around her. Lara didn't know how Sam did it, but she was extraordinarily grateful. She could feel sleep begin to weigh down her limbs so she closed her eyes, ready to wake up to morning light and Sam's face. 


End file.
